Discretely concealing shawl

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to the field of compression garments specifically shawls. The new discretely concealing shawl is designed to be attractive yet practical by incorporating novel compression and wrapping functionalities into the general size, shape and material of a women&#39;s shawl. Whether she wears it for fashion, warmth or shielding from the sun, the new concealing shawl provides women of all ages, sizes and styles the added benefit of compressing their upper arms and concealing their upper backs/sides as to effectively yet stylishly constrain and hide undesirable body bulges.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None

FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable.

SEQUENCE LISTING

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of compression garments, specifically shawls. The new discretely concealing shawl is designed to be attractive yet practical by incorporating novel compression and wrapping functionalities into the general size, shape and material of a women's shawl. Whether she wears it for fashion, warmth or shielding from the sun, the new concealing shawl provides women of all ages, sizes and styles the added benefit of compressing their upper arms and concealing their upper backs/sides as to effectively yet stylishly constrain and hide undesirable body bulges.

This innovative shawl addresses the presently unmet need for a fashion accessory that compresses and conceals “problem areas” while leaving bare those proximate areas the user desires to be seen. These problem areas include, generally, loose skin and/or excess fat on the upper arms and bulges that result from excess skin and/or fat being displaced by a user's undergarment, such as a bra. The standard method of concealing these areas, which can be a source of great self-consciousness in women, is by covering the upper body with garments such as loose fitting tops, scarves or shawls. For a woman seeking to conceal these areas while dressing up or otherwise wishing to feel sexy while selectively covering her upper body, a loose fitting top is not appropriate apparel. Likewise, scarves are considered to be outerwear and would only meet her needs, if at all, while outside. Both traditional shawls and scarves serve to cover the upper body problem areas only by wrapping the article completely around the upper body, which conceals the back, neck and chest in addition to covering the undesirable areas. In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known art, the present invention provides a novel discretely concealing shawl. The general purpose of the present invention is to enable a user to take advantage of the inherent coverage of a traditional shawl with the added benefit of selectively exposing one's back, neck and décolletage.

The embodiments described herein are illustrative of the invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description and drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. It should be further understood that the phraseology and terminology applied herein merely serve the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with one elastic armband fitted on the upper right arm.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms.

FIG. 3 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the right arm wrapping process.

FIG. 4 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the left arm wrapping process.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl in final, wearable position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The figures accompanying this specification illustrate embodiments of the present invention, the new discretely concealing shawl, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention. FIGS. 1-5 show various views illustrating the form and use of one embodiment of the concealing shawl. As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to a compression garment and more particularly to a shawl.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with one elastic armband fitted on the upper right arm. The new shawl is generally comprised of two armband portions—a right armband 1 and a left armband 2—each made of, or integrated with, a stretchy material of tube-like shape and size such that each armband fits snugly in a sleeve-like fashion on the user's upper arm (i.e., above the elbow and below the armpit/shoulder). The armbands 1, 2 are connected to each other by a draping portion 3, which is generally comprised of a fashionable material, such as that from which one might construct an ordinary shawl. The draping portion 3 is generally rectangular in shape, and the short edges can be any desired length but ideally approximately 1.5 to 2 times the length of the armbands 1, 2. The draping material is attached along the length of each of its short edges to the length of one of the armbands 1, 2, the length of the short edges being gathered at the attachment margins as to render the short sides of the draping portion 3 and the armband portions 1, 2 generally the same length and in alignment with each other.

In use and as shown, one first fits one armband 1 on her upper right arm such that the band is positioned between her underarm and elbow and such that the attached draping portion 3 is behind the arm with the inside of the shawl 4 facing the body and the outside of the shawl 5 (i.e., the side one desires to be seen) facing away from the body. Passing the draping portion 3 behind the back and being careful not to twist the draping material, one then fits the second armband 2 to her upper left arm. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms.

Once the user has both armbands 1, 2 in place and ensures there is no twisting in the draping portion 3 such that the material is generally planar, the user can rotate the armbands to tighten the shawl and conceal the armbands themselves. FIG. 3 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the right arm wrapping process. The user rotates the right armband 1 forward, in a counterclockwise direction 6, to reduce any slack in the draping portion 3 and to hide the right armband material as desired. FIG. 4 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the left arm wrapping process. The user rotates the left armband 2 forward, in a clockwise direction 7, to reduce any slack in the draping portion 3 and to hide the left armband material as desired.

Once the armbands 1, 2 are rotated, the user is ready to socialize with a newfound confidence. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl in final, wearable position. As shown in this embodiment, the desired side of the user's shawl is facing outward 5, both across the user's back where it conceals one's “problem areas,” as well as around the armbands where it fashionably conceals the compression bands serving to keep the skin and other issue of the upper arm taught and in place.

As to further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of this invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention, the use of which results in a discretely concealing shawl that provides the user of the new shawl the benefit of selective coverage as she conceals her arms and back while leaving exposed her neck and décolletage.

Although the description presented heretofore contains specificities for the benefit of illustration, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but rather as illustrative examples of some of the several embodiments. Thus, the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples provided. The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A discretely concealing shawl, comprising: a first armband and a second armband, each armband being made of, or integrated with, a stretchy material of tube-like shape and size such that each armband fits snugly in a sleeve-like fashion on a person's upper arm; and a draping portion being generally rectangular with four edges, including a first opposing edge and a second opposing edge, and made of a fashionable material, such as that from which one might construct an ordinary shawl, the first opposing edge of said draping portion being sewn laterally to the exterior of the first armband, and the second opposing edge of said draping portion being sewn laterally to the exterior of the second armband.
 2. The method of using the discretely concealing shawl of claim 1, comprising: fitting the first armband to the upper portion of one of the user's arms; passing the draping portion and the second armband behind the user's back; fitting the second armband to the upper portion of the user's other arm; ensuring there is no twisting in the draping portion such that the material is generally planar; rotating the first armband forward, toward the front of the user's body, to tighten the shawl and conceal the first armband; and rotating the second armband forward, toward the front of the user's body, to tighten the shawl and conceal the second armband. 